


sometimes you just gotta get chased by your crush, literally

by Echoe



Category: Sweet Elite (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Humor, POV Second Person, and technically the rest of the main 10 but they don't talk so im not gonna bother, this is like the longest fic ive ever written hot damn!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24495283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echoe/pseuds/Echoe
Summary: You're just trying to organize a surprise birthday party for the twins, but one of them is always there to make things more complicated.
Relationships: Karolina Nováková/Scholar, Karolina/Scholar
Kudos: 14





	sometimes you just gotta get chased by your crush, literally

**Author's Note:**

> me, more than a month late : hey look, birthday fic for the twins  
> (she says, when most of it is about scholar and karolina being gay)

A few weeks ago, Tyler told you how Tegan's birthday was coming up.  
You just went 'oh, neat' at first. Thought about what kind of present you should get him. A cool pair of socks, maybe. You had seen some really cool socks online not too long ago. Asked Tyler if they were planning on doing anything to celebrate. You didn't imagine Tegan would bother doing anything big for his birthday.  
Then you remembered.  
That boy had a twin.  
If Tegan's birthday was coming up, then that meant that _Karolina's_ birthday was also coming up.  
And suddenly it felt like a way bigger deal.

Which is why you ended up roping all of your friends into helping to organize a surprise birthday party for the twins.  
(Some of them were reluctant, sure, and only agreed for Tegan's sake, but you knew you couldn't just ask them to suddenly love Karolina. You just asked them to try not to pick any fight.  
You have enough love for the girl to make up for it, anyway.)  
On the 24th, there was a box full of garlands and party poppers (and other things, you think, because you're pretty sure Raquel and Tyler went a bit crazy during shopping) sitting patiently in your room, ready for action. The next day, everyone would come help decorate your room, while Neha and Tyler would keep Karolina and Tegan away, respectively.  
It all sounded easy enough.  
And it was, at first, really.

Early in the afternoon, Neha and Karolina went out shopping. Meanwhile, Tyler was playing video games with Tegan, making sure he wouldn't get out of his room. (Which wasn't really that hard.)  
The rest of your friends joined you soon after the girls left, and you all got to work.  
But, well.  
You got distracted _a lot_.  
Tadashi and Axel argued (but what's new, really?).  
Ellie was being her usual chaotic self (and you support her all the way, but also, not helpful).  
Raquel was absolutely thrilled to be let into your room and was more interested in looking around than actually helping.  
Alistair was split between trying to calm Tadashi down, and stopping Ellie from doing... whatever it was she was trying to do with the garlands and your plushies.  
And you were too busy keeping an eye on Raquel to do much either, so that left only Claire who was trying her best, really, but it was hard for her to do anything with six rowdy teenagers at her side.  
So, yeah. You weren't getting much work done. (But you were having fun, at least.)

And then you wanted to check something on your phone and saw you had one new message from Neha, which brings us back to the present.

_**Neha ☀️🌻 :** Karol suddenly said she was tired so we're already on our way back! I'm sorry! I tried to stall her..._

You received that text twenty minutes ago. (Why do you always leave your phone on silent?)  
You keep staring at the screen, hoping that maybe, just maybe Neha will send you another text telling you that they found a cute coffee shop to take a break at or something.  
But no such text comes.  
A few meters away, you hear Ellie tumbling down your desk, garlands getting ripped off and Alistair saving her in extremis.  
This is fine. (It's not.)  
Claire, probably noticing your distress, walks over and peeks at your phone to see what's bothering you.  
...  
_Tadashi_ , noticing _both_ of your distressed states, walks over and peeks at your phone.

"Oh, _shit_."

Yeah, what the man said.  
Thankfully, unlike you two, he's quick to react and, after some yelling and a lot of panicking, manages to get everyone to work.  
Everyone but Raquel and you is decorating.  
While she's rushing to the kitchen to get the cake Neha and Claire helped pick out (because you were NOT risking picking food for the model yourself when god knows what her diet allows her to eat), you're left guarding the dorms' entrance, with the task of stalling Karolina as much as you can when she gets there (which is probably very, very soon).  
Except you have _no idea_ what you're going to do to accomplish that.  
You're really bad at small talk.

But you're going to have to improvise in like, a minute, because right there in the distance you can see Karolina marching towards the dorms, checking something on her phone. Neha's close behind, looking very agitated, probably desperately trying to stop her. (Well, she also looks like she's having a hard time keeping up with her long strides. Tiny legs...)  
God, why did anyone think this was a good idea? Why did they send you? Tadashi should have come stall Karolina himself! He'd have better luck keeping her attention on him than you would, really.  
(You really shouldn't be thinking about that right now.  
But now that you've put that thought in your head, you're having a hard time ignoring it.  
Ignoring jealousy in general is pretty hard.)

"...-Karol, don't you want to grab something to eat first? We never did take a break-" (Oh, Neha, that sweetheart, she's trying so hard.)  
"No, I'm good Neha. I really want to get back to our room and rest my feet."

... And before you know it, they're right in front of you: Neha, looking at you in panic, Karolina, wondering what the hell you're doing here, blocking their way.

"... Can I help you with something, Anna?"  
"And hello to you too, Karolina, Neha."  
She sighs.  
"Hi."

And now she's back to staring at you.  
This is so awkward.

"... If you don't need anything, can you move? I'd like to get back to my room and put these away," she says, holding up her arm from which a bag's hanging.  
"Huh, well- no? I mean- did you have fun shopping?"

If maybe she just thought you were being a bit weird before, now she's probably downright suspicious.  
Good job, you.

"... Yes?"  
"Oh, ok, cool- that's good!" God, you're terrible at this. Even Neha looks disappointed in you. (Not really, you're just being dramatic. She's just realized that you're going to be of no help, but doesn't blame you. It's not like she'd done a much better job.)  
There's a moment of silence, during which Karolina is probably debating whether you're hiding something or if you've just gone mad (you feel like you have, honestly).

"... Anna, are you-"  
"WHO THE FUCK HAS BEEN INFLATING ALL THESE BALLOONS, WE DON'T NEED ALL THESE BAL- WHO EVEN BOUGHT PIZZA BALLOONS?"

See? Tadashi shouldn't be over there, he should be in your place stalling Karolina, not ruining everything by yelling incredibly suspicious things.  
She narrows her eyes at you.  
Help.

"What the _hell_ is going on?"

And now she's trying to push past you, oh god why, you need to act _now_ -  
-and that's when you notice the phone in her hand, and in two seconds you have a plan that will absolutely get you killed. But, hey, desperate times call for desperate solutions.

You put your hands on her shoulders, stopping her.

"Karolina."  
"Wh-"

You inhale.

"I know we're not exactly the closest of friends, but I still hope you can forgive me for this."

And before she even has time to process what's happening, you snatch her phone away and run out of the dorms (almost shoving her), towards the garden.  
She better follow y-

" **ANNA!** "

You can hear the sound of running heels behind you.  
You are currently being chased.

"Anna, what the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?!"

Oh, she sounds mad.  
You are _so_ dead.  
But there's no stopping now, because you need to get her away from the dorms for as long as you can, so you sure as hell are going to kill your legs running away from a mad model.

When you get to the gardens, your first thought is to try to hide, but you quickly realize that that she is _way_ too close behind for it to work (how _does_ she run so fast in heels?), so you keep running, almost tripping on a tree root- god, how long can you keep running like this? Not long enough, your unprepared body tells you as you dart between rose bushes, but the fear of Karolina catching you is giving you so much energy, it's pretty amazing.  
(You hear her curse not too far away, and you hope she didn't hurt herself on the roses or anything.)

You've reached the lake now, there are fewer plants hiding you, and you suddenly feel extremely exposed and in danger.  
There's nothing obstructing Karolina's line of sight now, and you can almost _feel_ the murderous intent.  
(Is this what being prey feels like?)  
Will you dare look back?  
Absolutely, because you're an idiot.

Of course, because you're a gay idiot, your first thought is that her disheveled hair looks really hot.  
Your second thought, more rational, is that she looks positively pissed, and that you regret everything you've done.  
Your third thought, a bit late, is that you've been looking behind you for too long.  
That's why you do end up tripping on a tree root after all.  
And since you have a really expensive phone in your hand that's probably worth more than everything you own combined (probably not), instead of extending your arms to break your fall, you clutch protectively the device against your chest.

The impact is painful.  
Like, really painful.  
Your head's ringing.  
Your nose hurts. A lot.  
You wonder if you've broken it. You've never broken it before, so you don't really know what it's supposed to feel like.  
Pain, probably.

Karolina slows down to a stop next to you. You use your elbows to push yourself up, slowly.  
The ringing gets louder.

"Anna?"

You're now on your knees, a bit wobbly, one arm still folded against you- hand holding the phone tightly.  
The phone.  
Is it ok?  
You look down, examining it.  
It looks ok, you think. You don't see any crack.

" _Anna?_ "

You finally look up to Karolina.  
She seems worried.  
It feels a bit weird. You're not used to seeing her like this. To seeing her worrying about you.  
(Is it bad that it makes you happy?)

"Are you okay?" She crouches down beside you. "Can you say something?" Her voice sounds a bit more urgent now.

You lick your lips, and taste metal.  
You bring your free hand to your nose.  
It's bleeding. Unsurprising.

"I, uh," you blink once, twice, trying to figure out what's more important to say, "your phone is okay."  
"What?"  
"Your phone. That I took. You know. I didn't break it or anything when I fell. Kept it safe."

You hold it up for her to see to prove your point.  
There's a beat of silence, during which Karolina looks completely flabbergasted. You're not really sure why, and it worries you slightly.  
You feel the need to talk more, if only to ease your nerves.

"Also, my nose is bleeding. There's that."

More silence.

"And, uh. I'm sorry for taking your phone like that. And running away with it. And falling with it."

...

"Um."

This silence is getting uncomfortable.  
Also, you're starting to notice more and more all the places where you hurt yourself. Your arms sting like hell. That's uncomfortable, too. (That's what you get for not wearing sleeves.)

"I promise I had a reason for doing all that, though. But I can't tell you right now otherwise it would all have been for nothing and okay I know it sounds like I'm making shit up but-"  
"You're an idiot. Also, you're rambling."

She cups your face with one hand and gets dangerously close, examining you intently.  
(Your brain just short-circuits. You barely have enough power left to stop yourself from leaning in and kissing her.  
You don't have enough power to stop yourself from staring at her lips, though.)

"At least you didn't break your nose..."

You smile. You got that going for you, at least.  
(Man, her hand is really soft.)  
She sighs and pulls back a bit, seemingly satisfied with her inspection. ( _You_ weren't done admiring _her_ face, though, and you _almost_ complain about it. Almost.)

"Also, Anna."  
"Yeah?"  
"You do realize that I have more than enough money to buy a new phone whenever I want, right?"

You blink.  
You remember Tadashi throwing his expensive phone into the water like it was nothing. The realization hits you.  
Fucking rich people.  
Now you feel stupid for being so worried about damaging it.  
Still.

"I literally ran away with your phone. That's already bad enough as it is, I couldn't just... break it too."  
"Mmh." She raises an eyebrow. "And when are you planning on telling me why you did that in the first place, exactly?"  
"Um. Soon? But not now?"

She narrows her eyes, and you really, really hope she isn't going to get mad. You don't want to tell her everything because you don't want to ruin the surprise, obviously, but you also don't want to anger her because of it (you've really angered her enough for today).  
Thankfully, she eventually huffs but relents, snatching her phone from you before putting it away and standing up.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood."

You stand up too, dusting off your pants.

"Yeah? Something good happened?"

You realize it's a stupid question the moment it leaves your mouth.  
(She looks at you like you've just slapped her.)

"... You really forgot."

She frowns the next second.

"Though I never did tell you, did I? I-", she pauses for an instant, taking a shuddering breath, "-whatever. It's nothing."

And just like that, she's put her mask of indifference back on, and you hate it.  
She sounded so disappointed.  
(Neha's probably the only one to have wished her a happy birthday. And you're sure she expected it.  
But she was hoping that you would, too.  
Shit, she really does consider you a friend.)

You grab her hands on impulse, because words are too complicated.  
You just... don't really know what to say.  
You don't want to wish her a happy birthday now. That's for the surprise.  
But you don't want her to feel sad because she thinks you don't know. You want her to know that you care about her.  
(It's really important, you think. Letting her know that some people love her.)

She doesn't say anything for a while. She alternates between staring at your joined hands and staring at your face, looking for some kind of explanation.  
(You don't really have any coherent one to give her.  
Instead, you start rubbing her palms with your thumbs.)  
Her gaze eventually stops going up to you and settles on your hands, a light blush coloring her cheeks.  
(You appreciate that she doesn't force you to talk.)

A drop of blood from your nose lands on your arm, and Karolina withdraws her hands immediately, seemingly remembering your injured state. She gestures to your nose, then your arms.

"You should get that cleaned up."

You examine your arms, frowning. It's not that bad, honestly. You expected to see more blood. The wounds are really superficial.

"I mean-"  
"Don't. You're going to the infirmary."  
"... Alright."

You start turning around.

"Walk me there?" You can't have her go back to the dorms yet. "To make sure that I don't fall again and die or something."

She purses her lips, looking like she's weighing the pros and cons of accompanying you.  
(You're pretty sure it's just for show, though.)

"Sure."  
"Nice."

She raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment.

"By the way, Karolina."  
"What?"  
"Your hair's a mess."

It's really cute how she immediately fumbles to arrange it.

The walk to the infirmary is silent. Your nose stops bleeding by the time you get there, thankfully. While Karolina waits patiently, the nurse cleans up your wounds, puts a few bandages on you, and you're all good to go.  
The walk back to the dorms is a lot more stressful. You've been gone for a while, sure, but you don't know if that was enough for your friends to finish preparing.  
You grab your phone and shoot Tadashi a quick text. The answer is almost instantaneous.

_**Tadman :** Everything's ready, somehow. I'm gonna tell Tyler to bring Tegan over._

Oh thank _god_.  
Karolina squints at you, probably noticing your sudden excitement, and you do your best to ignore her. Just a little longer...

When you get to the dorms, you see Tyler and Tegan in the distance, walking your way.  
Talk about timing.  
You all meet up in front of your room, and Tegan looks utterly confused.

"Can someone tell me what's going on now...?"  
"Dude, I told you, it's a surprise! You'll see soon!"

Karolina turns to you, eyes narrowed.

"And what exactly are you planning on doing with my little brother now?"  
"Hey, don't act like it doesn't concern you, you're coming too."  
" _What?_ "

You grab your door's handle.

"Come on, stop asking questions."

You open the door and Tyler pushes them in before they can protest further.

Party poppers explode in their faces.

" **HAPPY BIRTHDAY!** "

Immediately after, Ellie tackles Tegan, and they both fall on Tyler who can't catch his bro _and_ a gremlin. Raquel laughs, Claire rushes over to check if they're okay.  
Karolina just looks on, incredulous.  
You put a hand on her shoulder to catch her attention.

"Hey."

She turns to you, eyes wide. You smile.

"Happy birthday."

She stares at you for a bit, and the way her eyes shine makes you think this was completely worth it.

"Sorry for not saying it earlier."  
"... It's alright," she answers softly. She seems to be finally collecting herself. "Did you do this?"  
"I mean, I planned it, yeah. But," you gesture to your friends, "they did most of the work while I was busy stealing phones."

She hums thoughtfully, then suddenly gasps.

"That's why you-" You snort.  
"Yeah. We were way behind schedule. Sorry about that again."  
"Just choose something that doesn't make me sweat next time, alright?"  
"I'll try."

Neha joins you soon after, and you decide to leave them be to check on the party.  
(Also because Neha started asking about the blood on your shirt and you don't want to have to explain how you face planted because you were being gay.)

The party isn't something really grand, but you're happy with it, honestly. Your room looks festive enough with the garlands and the balloons floating around (and the floor covered in confetti), and everyone seems to be having fun. Even Tegan has recovered from the initial shock and is enjoying himself with his friends.  
It's nice.

Sometimes during the party, you give Tegan his present, a pair of doge socks. It's not much, but they made you laugh and you thought he'd appreciate it. (He blushes and offers you a shy smile and a small thank you- he does appreciate them.)  
Giving Karolina her present is a bit more difficult, because you're really nervous about how she'll react. You weren't sure what to get her, because she could buy anything better than what you could ever provide, but you tried anyway. You figured it was the thought that counted.

You're sitting on your bed, playing with the ribbon wrapped around the small box in your lap.  
Of course it's Karol who notices you first and walks over, sitting down next to you.  
She nods at your present.

"What is it?"

You huff out a laugh.

"Gee, I wonder."  
"What, a present for Tegan?"  
"Nah, he got his already."  
"Then-" she stops herself, blinking at you. "You... got me something?"  
"Well, yeah. It's your birthday, too."

Before she can say anything, you continue, a wave of anxiety hitting you.

"I mean, I tried to, at least. It's not much. And, well, you have a lot of money, you could probably get something way better, but, well, I just, I still wanted to-"  
"Anna, stop."

She puts a hand on your thigh for comfort. (Oh god, your heart's beating so fast.)

"I know you're a scholarship student and can't buy me some 200$ present. It's fine. I... I wouldn't laugh at anything you'd give me."

(You don't realize that there's something unsaid there, something along the lines of her appreciating anything you could get her, because it's you.  
To you, it's just her getting a bit emotional because someone beside Neha got her something.  
There's a bit of that, too, it's true.  
But it's mostly because it's you.)

"Promise?"  
"Promise."  
"Okay."

You hand her the present, and she carefully undoes the ribbon before opening the box.

"Like I said, it's not much, and honestly I'm not even sure that's something you'd wear, but, still. I just... It just seemed like something good to give you."

She takes out the pendant, [a red rose in a small glass container](https://i.imgur.com/RTErZjr.jpg), examining it.  
(There was a lot of symbolism going through your head when you decided to buy that, something about the meaning of red roses and the fragility of the glass container.  
This gift is a lot more romantic and pitiful than she needs to know.)

"Well, you're right about one thing. That's not something I'd normally wear."

You smile sadly. Yeah, you figured.  
But despite her saying that, she's already in the process of putting it on, turning her back to you.

"A little help?"

You oblige, moving her hair out of the way to attach the pendant. When you're done, she turns back to you, playing with it.  
(You're feeling really good right now, because you didn't think she'd even bother trying it on.)  
She smiles.

"It's cute, at least. I'm not surprised you picked it."  
"Ahah, yeah, I kinda went with my own tastes there. You know I don't know much about fashion."  
"Oh, anyone can tell, don't worry."

Is it weird that you don't even take offense to these kinds of comments anymore?  
They just make you smile fondly.  
(God, you're head over heels for this girl.)

"Maybe we could go shopping together sometime. You could show me what _you_ consider good jewelry, so that I'd know what to get next time."

Did you technically just ask her out on a date?  
Yes.  
And the way her cheeks flush when she realizes it is _very_ satisfying.

"I suppose I _could_ teach you a thing or two," she pauses, "are you free next Saturday?"

(She's trying really hard to sound casual about it.  
But she's still blushing, so it doesn't really work.)

"Completely free." You're not, you have an essay to finish, but that's what all-nighters are for.  
"Well, then," she stands up, smirking through the blush, "it's a date."

And just like that she walks away.  
You're pretty sure you're blushing a little too.

When you look up, you meet Tyler's gaze, and the way he's smirking at you tells you he's been watching the whole exchange.  
He throws two thumbs up your way, and even though you low-key want to smother him with your pillow, you can't stop yourself from grinning in response.

**Author's Note:**

> my god, these bitches be gay  
> good. good for them


End file.
